Weekly Thread Dec. 13-19

[lauren]

Just getting it going, cause I'm here!

No real news here at 41 + 2 days..... Wishing to join those in labor and having babies!!!

[~MommyAmanda]

39 weeks 3 days

It is this compleltey unconcievable idea that i will ever "Go" into labor. I think the previous inductions and all the prodromal/fasle labor have dtroyed my confidence.

I mowed our yard yestrerday in an attempt to encourage things along. I have been contracting all night and still this morning but they are pain-free so I don't know what to think. I am just starting to time them know. You would think after having two babies I would know what to expect.... But with pitocin your contractions start out hard and stay hard. This is just my belly getting really hard and tightening in my back. Ofcourse he is so big that it is impossible to tell at first if it is a contraction or just his huge hiney that is hard.

[Jenelle]

37 1/2 weeks

MommyAmanda, LOL about his huge hiney! :LOL I have to stop and think sometimes too, if he is stretching or if it's a contraction. It's usually a contraction, though! If you're feeling something in your back, that sounds promising to me... Good luck!!!

Lauren, I can tell your overdue-ness is getting to you.

And carrying over from last week's thread, go Shalena! I never thought we'd hear you making it this far, with everything you had to go through. Hooray for letting that baby cook this long!

[cinnamonamon]

Know how you feel, Amanda. I just had an appt. w/ my mw, and we talked about things that would help. She gave me a tincture & encouraged me to be active. She also said "the way they get started is the best way to get them out." So even though it's kinda uncomfortable to find a good position we will be more "active" that way too, lol.

Keep up the activity -- and TRY to relax mentally (telling myself this too, lol).

[lauren]

Amanda, that's exactly how my contractions feel. Sometimes they start with a baby-hiney stretch, but then take on a life of their own! I'm feeling a little more discomfort with them today, and I had some bleeding this a.m. (like a light period), which is at least the first physical, outside my body sign I have had. With my last baby, this happened a full four days before she was born, so I'm not gettng my hopes too high up here.

We postponed our non-stress test until tomorrow, because it is snowing and we have to go over a mountain pass to get to the birth center.

Cinnamonamon, I applaud you for all the dh-assisted preparation For us it is just so uncomfortable and with my hip and pelvic pain a virtual impossibility! Go for it though!

[nikirj]

Wishing Shalena all the best...sounds good for her...

So I have had loose bowels yesterday afternoon/evening and this morning. This happened in the two days or so before labor for both my first two. But I'm currently hoping that I don't deliver for another week and a half, AT LEAST, because of how sick my kids are. So I'm hoping this is just something I ate or something. As much as I like my DH's aunt, I really don't want to follow her and her baby into the NICU (her 3mo was hospitalized for this same virus, is still there actually). Please if you have advice or experience regarding RSV, come here. I've gotten some good advice already but every bit of information helps, really.

Sooo...I had declined the GBS test, which wasn't going to be a problem (my MW even said that at the hospital we'd go to for a non-emergency transfer, they don't treat a declined test as a positive, which is great)...except now if the baby catches whatever my kids have and we have to go in, the hospital will assume that the baby has group B strep and has gone septic, and will do the full-on treatment without waiting for test results - which is just awful. Which is why I found myself fishing garlic out of my yoni this morning and hoping to not deliver at the very least until Thursday, when I'll be finished with my garlic-and-yogurt routine and can hopefully get a negative GBS test result.

I'm feeling really backwards right now - I thought at this point I'd be eagerly awaiting labor - and here I am hoping it is a ways off yet. In fact, until just a couple of days ago I was hoping that the contractions I was feeling were helping ripen things up, and now I'm practicing closing-up visualization and self-hypnosis, trying to prolong the process, hoping not to deliver until my house and family are a safe place for a new baby.

This really sucks.

[cinnamonamon]

:LOL Lauren, It's uncomfortable here too, but thank goodness I don't have the hip/pelvic pain right now or I wouldn't be nearly so optimistic! Mostly I'm just not all that interested but hey, I'll make more effort for the babe's sake. We've been down to about once a week for a while -- poor dh, considering the 6ish week dry spell he's about to endure! :LOL

[cinnamonamon]

s niki!! I'll send you all my non-labor starting vibes!

[~MommyAmanda]

Well I made bannana bread.....aren't you supposed to bake something when you think labor may be starting? LOL!

NIki, my kids have a cold right now too. Alaina has pretty bad asthma so I am just praying it peters out.

I too am having loose bowels (the things we talk about). NO need for an enema here! What does castol oil do to you if you are pretty cleaned out?

Still contracting, but no pain. I may take a walk but it is actually cold here today!

Edited to add:

I don't think this is anyhting real. I did a little search and everything said that I should be feeling them lower if they are real. And I still am not having nay kind of show. I think I'll go take anap!

[cinnamonamon]

Good luck, & enjoy your nap -- I tried to cajole my son into one & he said "no, mama" in a chastising tone, lol. I forgot about the cold aspect of being outside...I think it's supposed to get down to a high of 70ish this week here... hehe -- I guess I can enjoy some aspects of Florida! :LOL

[Jenelle]

Originally Posted by nikirj

Which is why I found myself fishing garlic out of my yoni this morning

:LOL and

I don't know much about RSV, but best of luck with that! If it helps, you and I are due on the same day and I don't feel like he's coming anytime soon... maybe yours won't either.

[~MommyAmanda]

More babies keep coming....AND THEY AREN"T MINE!

I have an appointment this afternoon and if my cervix is reachable she will strip my membranes. Everyone in my house is cranky and sniffly and I feel bad becuase I know my sttitude is playing a huge part.

Has anyone noticed that they suddenly have to struggle to pick up their toddler? She feels like she has gained 10 pounds but DH assures meit is just me.

[NeKisha]

40 weeks + 1 day

i am awefully sick. i woke up last night feeling very congested and with a very sore throat. i think that i might have a sinus infection and am going to call my mw to see what i can take.

id hate to have this baby around me being sick, and feeling miserable myself trying to cope with baby while being sick.

i am still only a cent. dialated and 50 % effaced. i want to walk but its freezing outside (thats maine) and i feel like crap. i am trying but i dont feel like going far. baby does this funny thing though. at night, after i calm down for the day and sit on the couch, the baby will shift entirely over to one side. its completely visable, turning my belly lopsided and almost a triangle when looking down from the top. its funny and very uncomfortable.

i will miss feeling baby inside and am flip-flopping over how i feel about going this long in my pregnancy. i am more than overjoyed to know that i will see my baby soon, but am aprehensive about all the responsiblities that are going to be handed to me the minute the baby is laid on my chest.

[Past_VNE]

Hi everyone!!

I'm still on the waiting list. Feeling very impatient, too. On the other hand, I had a momentary lapse of thought on Friday evening and lounged back on the couch. In the three or four minutes that I was like that, the baby went, Whhhuup....posterior. I'm really not happy about that. I spent an hour last night on my hands and knees, doing rocks, crawling, arching, you name it. The babe seems to be VERY busy, more so than it had been, perhaps trying to get righted?? I feel butt/back occasionally, but mostly it's in the wrong position. I'm just hopeful that it's still head down at least, but I'm not totally sure. This whole thing has me stressed. DH is doing a great job at reading up on how to spin babies and keeps reminding me of things to do. Heck, he even crawled around with me last night....like from the living room to the kitchen when the dinner buzzer went off....it was really funny. Thank heavens I have ferrets and a kitten to play with while I'm down there. Too bad my shoulders can't really take it after I injured them last year. Oh well. Anything to turn this little one.

Think good thoughts for me, please....I know it's not a REAL big deal, but I'm worried.

Come on, Babies....time to make your entrances...we're all dying to meet you!!!

[cinnamonamon]

NeKisha, just to put your mind at ease a bit, my mw isn't worried at all that I'm "overdue." Remember, "full term" technically is between 38 & 42 weeks -- NOT 40 weeks exactly. I am not dialated at all -- I have "a dimple" and am 50% effaced. Stuff IS happening down there -- if you have a cold coming on, baby will be best inside, so maybe that's why (s)he is still there, kwim?

When you are on the couch, try to stay upright (don't lean back) or lay on your left side -- this will encourage optimal positioning of the baby for birth. Drink lots of hot tea to help your throat -- I like my pregnancy tea, or some red raspberry leaf tea -- those are good for preparing your body for labor. Have you looked into the use of evening primrose oil? That helps prepare/soften your uterus/cervix as well. Lurk on some of the other pregnancy boards around here for an hour or so & read -- there's so many things you can do to encourage baby, kwim?

Now I'm done being pushy, :LOL and I'll say -- I am SOOOO with you! I am BIG and SORE and TIRED...I keep getting those poking straight down into my cervix pains, or cramps, or, or, or...I just want to lay on the couch all day & sleep. Of course that isn't conducive to encouraging labor, nor does my 22 month old like it! I haven't even showered yet. If I didn't know how much better I would feel I wouldn't be able to get up the umpfh to make myself do it, either.

Ah well, I am going to shower, then put another pair of sweatpants on (since that's all that fits), and maybe a bra too, then have some tea while I empty our bookshelf off (we just completely finished it last night!) so I can take a picture of the finished product, then I'm going to load it back up all nice & neat. That should bring on some contractions, and maybe I'll take a walk (thank God I'm in Florida, so this is actually a pleasant experience) to keep them going.

Hmmm..the wiggles are coming on, so I will have 20 minutes w/o my ds bugging me, lol!

[nikirj]

My poor, poor DS is sooooo sick. He is throwing up everything, which isn't a symptom of RSV (that I know of) but the cause of the barfing seems to be that he's coughing, he's always had a really sensitive gag reflex. So now he refuses to eat anything. For the last two days. I thought I'd won a victory when I got him to eat a banana last night, but he threw it up in bed . And he started complaining last night that his ears/head hurt when he coughs. I tried to get him to drink some tea, but no dice.

At least I seem to have successfully stopped myself from labor. I haven't had even a b/h contraction in the past 24 hours, which is pretty remarkable (they were pretty regular before) but I've been trying real hard to convince my body to keep the baby in another week or so at least. Baby may want out, though - high activity level, lots of pushing and shoving. At least the positioning is good despite quite a few hours on the couch with DS and DD over the last couple of days.

We tried to go out yesterday to get some things for DS (some things we wanted to help him get over this faster) but taking him out really took him over the edge and his fever came on full-force, he got all glassy-eyed and achey, etc, etc, while at home he had been looking tired and coughing but closer to normal. We ended up carrying him around in a blanket while I rushed around trying to get the essentials (as long as we were out). It is funny how he suddenly seemed smaller when he really needed carrying/cuddling like that.

I haven't been able to sleep well the last several nights. I sleep more soundly when the kids are in their own beds, and they have lately been spending almost all night in their own beds, and suddenly DS is not just next to me, but burning a fever, coughing, crying, flailing around, etc. and I need to get up to use the restroom every couple hours...I woke up feeling really flat this morning. I'm trying pretty hard to keep myself healthy and get rid of whatever symptoms I do have (minor ones, this would be typical of RSV - little/no impact on adults, more and more impact as kids get younger). And still doing obscene things with garlic and hoping for the best.

[kazmir]

39 Weeks and still here....

Nikirj - I hope your son is feeling better soon. I had my DD home sick last week but it only lasted a day and may have been food poisoning.

Congrats to all who have birthed and are holding their little ones.
I have the feeling I will be here a bit, not much in the ctx area and just sore and achey down below. I need to drink more rrl tea and get the epo going as a suppository to get the cervix ready. We finished up our childbrith refresher last night so we are ready to go.

My OB last week just listened and measured so I have no idea if I am progressing much. He may check on friday since I will be less than a week from my EDD. He is very hands off and will let me go quite a while after my EDD before recommending an induction. Since I'm doing a VBAC this is very encouraging!

DD is at pre-school this morning. I get a break 3 mornings a week until the 23rd, then she is home for 2 weeks. I am still getting things ready and trying to get the Christmas shopping finished. Then I can take a nice walk on the beach if the weather keeps holding, I may take DD this afternoon if the sun is out. She likes to run! and I can follow her at a walk...

Take care all

[Jenelle]

Niki, so sorry to hear about your poor ds.

How do you know if your baby is "posterior" or what? Mine has been head down for months now it seems (my dr. tells me so) and I feel his butt on one side or the other and feet on the opposite side of that. Then sometimes I can feel little hands down there punching my bladder (or some organs way down low).

[Mommak]

38 weeks + 4 days

Ok, here comes some ranting from me...

I have been feeling sooooo tired, cranky and uncomfortable for the past two days I can hardly stand myself. After reading some other posts, I am so thankful that I am not sick on top of it, or have sick kids! I don't know how you mamas are doing it!

My finger tips are numb from carpal tunnel, my hips are killing me and I'm just feeling like a crank. Usually I can keep doing things to occupy myself so that I don't feel so sorry for myself, however my body is not cooperating these days. This is my first pregnancy and totally new territory, so I can't tell what's what with myself these days!!! UGH!

I get online every hour or so just to read other peoples posts so I don't feel like such a loser!!!

I think I've been having contractions, but can't really tell and am trying not to ruminate since I have no control over when this baby is coming anyway!!

Ok. Thanks for letting me vent!

[EnviroBecca]

38 weeks

My midwife wanted me to visit the OB who is his backup (will assist w/delivery if there are complications) just so he feels familiar w/my pregnancy. It happens that this is the same doctor we saw when we'd been TTC so long that we were ready to consider some treatment...got as far as semen analysis and HSG, and then we conceived naturally! OB was very happy for me and pleased to see my pregnancy progressing so well. The only thing that bugged me was that he went on about how "good" I am because I've gained only 22 pounds.

I'm surprised at how energetic I feel these days--better than in most earlier phases of my pregnancy! Pelvic pain is bothering me, esp. during the night and for an hour or so after getting up, and the heaviness and stretchedness of my tummy bother me at times...but I'm able to do a LOT of stuff in a day before I get worn out. My goal now is to stop pushing myself to the point that I do wear out every day; I need to store up energy for the birth.

Still feeling like I'm going to go full-term or a little over, and that theory is supported by Saturday's exam: Midwife says I am "ripening" but not dilated yet. (OB didn't do an internal.) Baby has been head-down for 2 months, but it's posterior. I'm doing some rocking on hands and knees but trying not to stress about it yet; probably there's plenty of time for it to turn, and I love being able to see those impressive kicks!